


Assassins

by Esbe



Series: Sketches [5]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 06:56:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8092090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esbe/pseuds/Esbe
Summary: There has been much said and written about Mary Morstan aka AGRA but nothing about Sebastian Moran in the BBC series. There has been speculation that given the revelation about Mary's origin she may be revealed to be Moran. I found ACD's Moran fascinating (see Paget's original drawing of two policemen restraining him and you will know why).I found Moftiss' Mary abominable (I love ACD's portrayal of women in the original stories I think)I however decided to play around with the whole notion of there being an assassin named AGRA (who is female but emphatically not Mary Morstan). And another named Moran.This is how I see them. Though these are definitely from my "Put me together" world. I haven't reached a point where I have to decide to include one or the other yet. But I don't want to lose this and hence you are being force fed my head canon :Drather raw and unbetaed cos honestly I don't want the lovely and exceptional Parivash007 to do such dirty work. Thanks for reading :)





	

Anahit Gohar Renatsi Ardzruni and Col. Sebastian Alexander Moran were both in London. They don’t know each other, but they know _of_ each other.

Each knows the other by reputation and by the fact that they are Moriarty’s tools. The other reason why they know of each other is that Jim had instructed them that should the other fail, or prove treacherous, they would be required to hunt them and kill. He had made it clear that both of them had the same instructions and the same incentives. The threat and the prize for it are both high enough. Which is why Jim had made sure they never met.

Ardzruni is his best spy and assassin; Moran is his best sniper and rumoured to be his right hand man. Ardzruni is subtle, a mistress of disguise and loyal only to herself; Moran is brutal and utterly loyal to Moriarty. Of the two of them, it could easily be said, Moran is the more sophisticated. He is rumoured to have come from old money possibly Eton and Oxford. She comes from the streets behind the iron curtain. Moran has spent years in the disciplined environs of the British army. He still holds the record for the distance kill with an L96. Ardzruni sharpened her claws in the streets, prefers to see her prey close, and uses knives and pistols. There are no records but she doesn’t miss with either. She thrives on her anonymity; he thrives on his notoriety.

Moriarty has used both of them and in truth trusts neither. Moran had wired each of the victims. All except John Watson. Jim had wanted to do that himself and he also needed Moran to be in his place well before Holmes arrived.

Moran had been at the pool with one of the rifles that did NOT show tiny red pointers and suspects so had A.G.R.A.

In the follow up to the detective’s suicide, both had been told to target the same man— John Watson. Indicating that the other two were in part expendable but _the pet_ was not.

Moran thought that it was a tactically sound decision to threaten three targets. It helped scatter the attention. Plus, if there was any doubt in anyone’s mind, either the hag or the pig could be picked off as a warning.

*****

Ardzruni alternates between three disguises to keep an eye on her target. She uses eighteen different points to observe him and rotates them at random. Pity he is a creature of habit. It has become an exhausting routine now. Her favourite is the graveyard. One of these days she will rig a microphone transmitter to that headstone. The man is pitifully sentimental. If she had been a fanciful woman she would have wondered what their exact relationship was. But she never wastes her imagination on such things. She needs it for the kill. The only place she never ventures is Baker Street. She knows that _the tiger_ has it covered always and hanging around there no matter her skill would be risking to be noticed by _the brother_. She is amused that her guise is helping pay her bills in it though she no longer needs the money. It is becoming rather tedious and she wishes the prolonged silence means Moriarty no longer needs her or even better that he is dead.

*****

Ardzruni ensures that she impresses Doctor Watson the very first time they meet. The A&E where he works now had been packed crazy, he had been on his feet for sixteen hours straight and her calm and efficient work as the ambulance paramedic had been enough to drag a perfunctory introduction from him. But she knows she is simply ‘furniture’ at this point.

Moriarty’s instructions are that if Ardzruni comes to know that Holmes is alive, then she will inform Moran and he will kill the doctor. Only if he fails will she kill the doctor as well as Moran. She hopes it doesn’t come to that.

*****

Moran ensures that John Watson remains oblivious of his existence. His trade-name (the tiger) comes from the simple reason that his targets (he refuses to call them victims) never know that he had them in his sights. He does not do the personal touch. He hates to get blood on himself.

He knows that A.G.R.A., as the trade calls him/her, has been delegated the task of tracking the man daily. He only needs to know whether there is a chance that Holmes is alive.

There are exactly three points in the city that he has examined and marked. Each of them will ensure a clear view of the target. Three likely spots best suited for picking the target with a rifle. They will suffice. The man never ventures beyond. Moran takes turns with the third (another sniper) in keeping an eye on the target. Every now and then he takes up smaller jobs outside London. Always outside London. Always short. The other sniper is good at shooting but not at surveillance. He needs to subsist and his lifestyle isn’t conducive to frugal living. He isn’t sure why Jim is so quiet suddenly. He knows that somewhere out there A.G.R.A. is keeping an eye as well. But then no one is as good as _the tiger_.

If Holmes is alive and returns to London, A.G.R.A. has been contracted to kill him. Of course, the doctor will be killed first. That is when both of them will get their final payment. Or A.G.R.A. fails; Moran kills the doctor, kills Holmes, tracks and kills A.G.R.A., and collects three times his payment.

It rankled that Jim chose two separate assassins for those two. Perhaps he will have a chance at Holmes as well. A.G.R.A. isn’t contracted to kill the doctor unless he fails, but one never knew with these damned foreigners. Wouldn’t put it past her/him to try and kill both. Insane fanatics the lot of them. He almost hoped s/he will fail so he could have the pleasure of carrying out that kill as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Moran being a colonel in the army, educated possibly at eton and oxford is ACD canon
> 
> For those in the know I hope the whole L96 thing makes sense. I wanted a rifle possibly used by the British army around the time that Moran may have been serving.


End file.
